


One Soulmate To Go, Please

by TsingaDark



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6632389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsingaDark/pseuds/TsingaDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where soulmates exist, Arthur still hasn't found his other half.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Soulmate To Go, Please

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Einen Seelenverwandten zum Mitnehmen](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/192055) by TsingaDark. 



> I wrote this for a prompt but I can't find the prompt anywhere..   
> anyway, this is so sappy, it makes even me cringe but I hope you enjoy this anyway.

Sometimes Arthur asked himself if he would be different had he grown up in an alternate world. A world without soulmates where one wasn’t constantly searching for the missing puzzle piece that would finally complete them.

Then he probably wouldn’t be a chronic coffee drinker and definitely not as poor. Because that happened when one went to Starbucks at least twice a week.

It wasn’t like Arthur _wanted_ to go to Starbucks. If he had the choice he’d rather go to an independent café. The problem was that he couldn’t _just stop_ looking for his soulmate who was somewhere out there in a Starbucks waiting for him.

Arthur asked himself which of the ridiculous names of the drinks his soulmate would have on their wrist. To spare them the humiliation Arthur always ordered a simple black coffee. Sometimes with milk.

That’s how he met Gwaine in London. Arthur hadn’t been to that specific Starbucks before and he knew he would have to come back a few times to be sure that he’d been served by every employee there.

When he heard the words on his wrist coming out of the mouth of the good looking barista with curly brown hair, it didn’t really affect him anymore. He had heard those exact same words so often that he wasn’t quite sure if they would spark something within him would his soulmate say them.

However, as Arthur ordered his coffee like he always did, Gwaine had stared at him and asked him about the writing on his wrist. Arthur had been over the moon.

In hindsight he knew that it had only been relief about the search finally being over. That he would never have to set foot in a Starbucks again. But that changed drastically when Gwaine had met his actual soulmate a week later.

After overcoming this set-back, Arthur had asked Gwaine how it’d felt to have finally found his other half. Gwaine, who normally was neither poetic nor insightful, had described it as the feeling of finally coming home after a long time.

Arthur didn’t know what that meant. And even though he had found a good friend through this incident, he was still looking for his soulmate.

It hurt him to not know when he would meet his soulmate. It could be in near future. But it could also be when Arthur was 60 years old and had finally switched from coffee to tea.

One week after he had moved to Oxford, he decided to go to another Starbucks. He had been on his way to the library when the rain surprised him. Of course he had left his umbrella in his apartment and wasn’t even wearing a rain coat to protect him from the worst of it.

As it was, Arthur ran down the High Street towards the familiar logo with the mermaid on it. Arriving at the door he was thoroughly drenched already and the water was dripping onto the floor when he stepped inside the café. He was just glad that he hadn’t been surprised by the rain on his way back. Otherwise the library books would’ve been completely wet as well.

Arthur looked around the café momentarily. It seemed as if several people had fled from the wetness into the warmth since a queue of around ten people had formed itself in front of the counter.

He sighed. He wasn’t actually in the mood for coffee. Maybe he would order tea today. That would certainly be better for his health anyway.

It felt like an eternity until the queue got shorter. Everyone in front of him seemed to have further requests in addition to their already complicated drinks.

Arthur admired the barista who wore a smile on his lips anyway. If it had been Arthur, he would’ve thrown in the towel after the second order already.

At least that gave him more time to think about what he wanted. He had discarded the idea of ordering tea already. If he was in a café primarily specializing in coffee then he wanted to order a drink with coffee in it.

When there was only one other person in front of him, Arthur’s gaze fell upon the barista’s name badge. Arthur couldn’t suppress a small smile when he saw that it read ‘Merlin’.

Somehow, in his life there was this tendency towards meeting people with names from the Arthurian legend in Starbucks cafés. Gwaine and now this Merlin were only a few of the examples. Once he had met a girl named Gwen in a Starbucks in America who had in turn been married to a Lancelot. Arthur was never quite sure if it was coincidence or fate.

Engrossed in thought, Arthur didn’t notice the person in front of him leaving to collect their drink. The words that he had heard so often but that never sounded right let him look up startled.

“Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get you?”

A noise in his head dampened the background noises over which Merlin’s words repeated themselves over and over again. It was like a mantra, an incantation.

Slowly Arthur’s eyes focused on Merlin who looked at him expectantly with a smile on his lips.

“One soulmate to go, please.” Arthur heard himself say and noticed the shocked look on Merlin’s face.

He felt the corners of his mouth go up on their own accord and couldn’t stop grinning. Even as Merlin ran around the counter and into Arthur’s arms, as everyone in the café started to applaud, as Arthur talked with Merlin the whole evening and the both of them spoke on the phone later and none of them wanted to hang up, Arthur still had a smile on his lips.

Finally, his quest was over.

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you think! I always appreciate feedback :)


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